Sefko: Forget just getting in the rotation, Dallas Mavericks' Wayne Ellington is a prime breakout candidate

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Mark Duncan/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Cleveland Cavaliers' Wayne Ellington dunks against the Orlando Magic in the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game Friday, Feb. 8, 2013, in Cleveland. The Cavaliers won 119-108. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

Too
many ifs are a bad thing for any sports team going into the season.

Franchises that rely on a lot of unknowns coming up rosy traditionally end up
disappointed.

The Mavericks have their share of variables, but one area where the “if”
seems like it has a fighting chance to turn out with a positive result is the
theory that they will become a solid playoff team if they get a young player or
two to make a significant leap forward in his level of play.

Wayne Ellington is a prime candidate.

The 6-4 guard, along with Brandan Wright, DeJuan Blair and a few others will
get the chance to have breakout seasons this year.

And really, last season was a bit of a breakthrough for Ellington, as well as
Wright.

In a season when he was traded from Memphis to Cleveland in January,
Ellington saw his playing time rise with the Cavaliers. He averaged 10.4 points
and three rebounds after the trade. For the season, he shot better than 39
percent from 3-point range.

He sees even better times ahead on a Mavericks team that has far more veteran
talent than did Cleveland.

“Absolutely, I feel like I’m just finally finding my niche in the NBA,” the
former North Carolina standout said. “So as I get more and more comfortable and
more confident, I’m going to get better and better. It’s a challenge. But I feel
like this is a perfect place for me. I feel like Dallas is home.”

It’s not easy for players of Ellington’s ilk to make a quantum leap up the
NBA ladder. After playing his first three seasons at Minnesota, moving around to
two teams in a season isn’t conducive to getting into a groove.

That’s why Ellington signed on for two seasons with the Mavericks.

“That’s exactly why,” he said. “I had a lot of one-year offers all over the
place. But it was important for me to get a two-year deal. I’m trying to find a
home.”

Through two preseason games, Ellington has been active at both ends of the
court. While his career 3-point shooting is one of the reasons Dallas coveted
him in the summer, he’s no one-trick pony.

“He’s a solid two-way player,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “He
obviously shoots the ball well, but he’s been one of our better defenders in
training camp. He’s going to be an important guy for us as I look at it right
now.”

Ellington, who turns 26 on Oct. 29, the day before the season opener, has
always been a shooter, but his defense is solid. And he’s trying to be more
versatile on offense.

“My best trait is long-range shooting,” he said. “I try to mix it up. I have
the reputation as a shooter, so I get a lot of people running at me. So now
you’ve got to be able to go to other things, take one or two dribbles, pull up.
Take one or two dribbles and get in the lane to create.

“But there are a lot of guys who can score on this team. Where we’ve got to
concentrate on is on defense. You can’t win games without defense. We’ve got
versatility on offense. We’ve got to stop people and rebound the ball.”

Wright’s
shoulder fractured: Wright, whose left shoulder has been a periodic
problem in his NBA career, suffered a small, nondisplaced fracture to that
shoulder in practice Tuesday.

The fracture was discovered in an MRI on Thursday. Surgery is not anticipated
at this time, the Mavericks said in a statement, and no timetable has been set
for Wright. He will be evaluated weekly.

Wright, who did not play in Wednesday at Memphis, had surgery on the left
shoulder that caused him to miss the 2009-10 season. The Mavericks hope the new
injury won’t cause Wright to miss significant time, but clearly his availability
for the Oct. 30 season opener is in doubt.

Wright signed a two-year deal this summer for $5 million annually. He is
being counted on to play a lot of backup minutes at center and power forward
this season.

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